Author: Press Trust of India
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: April 9, 2001
Introduction: "Although article
30 doesn't lay down any limitation on the rights of minorities to administer
their educational institutions, that right must be subject to reasonable
regulations, consistent with national interest"
In a major ruling, the Supreme Court
has held that though the Constitution does not provide for any limitation
on the right of a minority community to administer its educational institutions,
the Government can make regulations to maintain the institution's character.
''Even though Article 30 of the Constitution does not lay down any limitation
upon the right of a minority to administer its educational institutions,
that right cannot be said to be absolute and the right must be subject
to reasonable regulations consistent with the national interest,'' it said.
This ruling was given by a bench of Justice G.B. Pattanaik and Justice
D.P. Mohapatra while dealing with a question as to whether dismissal of
an employee of a minority educational institution required Government permission.
Answering the question in negative,
Justice Pattanaik, writing the judgement for the bench, said that Article
30 of the Constitution confers right on a minority community to set up
and administer educational institutions of their choice.
''The rights emanated from Article
30 are the rights to establish an institution and right to administer it.
The right to administer engrafted under Article 30 would not, however,
confer a right to maladminister,'' the bench said.
Justice Pattanaik said regulations
could be made to maintain educational character and standard of institution
and for that purpose it could also be extended to laying down of the qualifications
and conditions of service of an employee working with minority institutions.
Regulations could also be made to ensure orderly, efficient, sound administration
and discipline, which would be for the benifit of the institution and which
would not offend the right engrafted under Article 30.
''It would always be permissible
to frame regulations so long as the regulations do not restrict the right
of administration of the minority community but facilitate and ensure better
and more effective excercise of that right for the benefit of the institution,''
the court said.
The regulations made for achieving
competence of teachers or maintenance of discipline in the conditions of
service or providing for an appeal against the order of termination and
the like would not be held to be violative of the right to administer enshrined
under Article 30, it said. However, the bench made it clear that if the
regulations ''confer an authority on a body which was uncanalised or unreasonable
or there is no guiding principle, then the same could not be upheld''.
''The state could impose regulations
even upon a minority institution, which could be in consonance with Article
30(1) and such regulation must be reasonable and must be regulative of
the educational character of the institution and conducive to making the
institution an effective vehicle of education for the minority community."
(PTI)
